ESPN tabs Florida, Alabama as winners of NBA Draft withdrawal deadline

With the withdrawal deadline for the 2025 NBA Draft having passed on Wednesday night, some college programs now know which of their prospects will be back with them next season. To the experts at ESPN, a pair of top programs in the SEC were most impacted by that the best.

ESPN posted a withdrawal recap on Thursday morning following the deadline last night. In that piece, Jeff Borzello named the Florida Gators and the Alabama Crimson Tide as the biggest winners considering who will all be coming back to college to play in Gainesville and Tuscaloosa, respectively.

Firstly, Florida, the defending national champions, saw several names pull out the past ten days or so, specifically that of Alex Condon (10.6 points (49.3% FG), 7.5 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.3 blocks) on Tuesday after Reuben Chinyelu (6.0 points (59.9% FG), 6.6 rebounds) and Boogie Fland (13.5 points, 5.1 assists, 1.5 steals), a top transfer addition from Arkansas, had previously done so as well. That has taken the Gators, now with a full return from their frontcourt, from a ranked roster at tip-off to one that could repeat and win consecutive titles.

“The Gators went from a borderline Top 20 team to a legitimate contender to open the season as the No. 1 team with a real chance to win back-to-back titles,” Borzello wrote. “With (Fland and Condon) officially in the fold, coach Todd Golden has as good a starting five as there is in college basketball.”

“As I mentioned above, Florida ascends into the preseason No. 1 conversation as a result of their decisions,” Borzello added. “They’ll have to figure out how everything fits, but there should be more optimism in Gainesville about a repeat than there was earlier this offseason.”

Then, secondly, Alabama earned that recognition following the surprising return of Labaron Philon (10.6 points, 3.8 assists, 3.3 rebounds, 1.4 steals) last night. He had said two weeks prior that his intention was to remain in the NBA Draft following his freshman season with ‘Bama. Instead, though, the Tide turned completely on his process, which changes everything about what their backcourt was going to look like next season.

“Philon said at the combine that he had closed the door on a return to Bama, but his second-round projection and opportunity for a bigger role as a sophomore makes this the sensible decision,” Borzello wrote. “It’s a huge boost for coach Nate Oats’ team, which had been searching for a dynamic playmaker on the perimeter.”

With that, amidst other production, Florida returned their leader in blocks with Condon, while Alabama returned its leader in steals with Philon. Both were also honorees as well as all-conferenc,e with Condon making the All-SEC Third Team and Philon the SEC All-Freshman Team.

The Gators and Crimson Tide were already expected to again be among the better teams in the league, as well as nationally, next season, with who was set to come back or come in to both programs. These draft decisions, though, make them even better as true contenders per those at ESPN.